A Soul Worth Saving
by Blue Zombie
Summary: Julia's alive, Craig's 14, and Joey knows something is going on with Craig and Albert. Despite Julia's denial, Joey tries to intervene.
1. Chapter 1

Albert had picked up his son with his usual grim expression, and Joey waved foolishly as the stylish sports car pulled away. His wife didn't wave, she sat on the couch, what remained of her luxurious dark curly hair wrapped in a colorful bandana.

His wife had cancer, and had nearly succumbed but then the combination of chemo and radiation had shrunk the tumor, and it had continued to shrink until the doctors had shakily admitted it was remission. Remission was the blessed hopeful word of all cancer patients. But the doctors were loath to stop the chemo just yet.

Craig, his step-son, was 14, and his wife was still too sick maybe to notice anything. Joey had noticed. There was a distance in Craig's eyes, and there were unexplained bruises. Oh, he had explanations for them, for every last one. Falls, falls from skateboards and bikes, fights in school yards and parks. But Joey had known Craig a long time and had never known him to be clumsy, clumsy enough to fall from bikes and skateboards. And he'd never known him to be a particularly aggressive kid, the type of kid that would get into fights. He didn't believe him.

"Julia," he said, hearing a whine in his own tone he didn't like. This thing was Julia's call. He shared equally with her decisions regarding their five year old, Angie. But when matters concerned Craig he was more like an assistant coach who could mouth suggestions. The final call rested with Julia.

She looked at him, her sunken cheeks, her over large glassy eyes. She was getting better. She no longer resembled a skeleton with skin draped lovingly over it. The glazed look in her eyes and the severely chapped lips had gone, and she was eating and drinking again. Snatched from the brink, he thought, and breathed his own shaky sighs of relief. What would he ever have done without her?

"I'm worried about Craig," he said.

"Craig's fine," she said in her best, 'end of discussion' tone.

"He's fine? Julia, the kid comes in here with new bruises all the time, bruises in the shape of _fingerprints. _Now how do you suppose he gets those?"

The bruises he had seen were pretty concrete, but there was more than that, and he found it hard to articulate. Craig was jumpy. He was jumpy and he was trying to hide it but Joey saw. He saw the tenseness of his shoulders, he saw the little jerks of his muscles when people were loud, when things were loud, when people moved too fast. He saw this dull resignation in his eyes. He saw his mood change as Albert's arrival came closer. He was distracted. He was quieter. Albert was abusing him, it was clear as day to him. Why couldn't Julia see?

"From, from fights-"

"You believe that bullshit about fights?" He snapped at her, and saw the pain fill her eyes. He didn't want to cause her pain of any kind. But he couldn't let Craig suffer. Julia was being blind.

"He said-"

"I know what he _said_, but he's lying. Julia, he's lying,"

"Albert isn't hurting him," she said, stubborn. So stubborn.

"Oh no? Did you see him walk to his car? The kid looked like he was walking to prison, for god's sake. Albert _is_ hurting him. We have to, we have to do something,"

That was easier said than done. Albert was rich. Albert was a bastard. He could make doing something very tough, very tricky. He knew his wife feared him still, all these years after the dissolution of their marriage. He knew she was employing some type of denial. She left Craig with him and he therefore could not be hurting him. It didn't square with her world view, it didn't square with her vision of what was, of existence itself. She was believing what she wanted to believe, what she had to believe.

Doubt filled her face, little cracks like in a ming vase thousand of years old. Then she shook the doubt away.

"Albert wouldn't hurt him," she said.

He shook his head. Had the pain meds and chemo blurred her vision? Craig was an abused child if he had ever seen one, and he had, years ago. What was that kid's name? He couldn't recall, but he remembered his messy sandy blond hair and worn blue jeans, he remembered his father, that distracted angry man in a worn business suit and out of style tie. They weren't wealthy like Albert was, but that guy had the same tense edginess that Albert had. He had the same hair trigger temper.


	2. Chapter 2

They saw Craig once a week. That was all they got. Julia hadn't argued for awhile, especially when she was so sick and Albert had made the concession of letting Craig go almost daily to the hospital to see her. But the danger had passed and they were back to once a week, Friday into Saturday, effectively ruining Craig's weekend. Not that he appeared to have that many friends.

Things had come to a point for Joey. He knew something was up with Craig, and this weekend he meant to prove it. He glanced out the window for Albert's sports car. He looked over the heads of his wife and daughter who were leaning over a book on the couch. Briefly he closed his eyes.

Earlier in the week he'd spoken to his old friend Caitlin, remembering the way he had felt when he used to hear her voice in high school.

"Caitlin, I need you," he said, and she laughed.

"What do you need, Joey?"

"Listen, I need like a, a weekend get away thing for Craig and Angie, someplace with a pool,"

"Why? Are they stressed out?" He could hear the smile in her voice. He played it off. He couldn't tell her what he suspected regarding Craig and Albert. That might awaken her warrior spirit and she'd call Children's Aid or the police, who knew. Sometimes when Caitlin was on a mission she was as precise as a sledgehammer.

With a little fibbing about Julia and her cancer recovery he lead Caitlin off his trail, and she found them a beautiful resort with a huge heated pool, and she paid for it because she had an expense account and because she was such a good friend.

He saw the car pull up, saw the intense shine of the sleek gray color, saw Albert pull smoothly up to the curb. He watched Craig get out, moving stiffly. He saw Albert lean over to talk to him and he saw Craig looking intensely at his father, saw his half wave as he pulled away.

"Craig," Joey said, opening the door, "ready for a weekend of relaxing fun?"

Craig didn't look like he was thrilled to be going, and he said that.

"Why are we going to some hotel? What's wrong with staying here?"

"We always stay here,"

"Whatever," Craig said, and Joey eyed the long sleeve shirt. He always wore long sleeves, even on the hottest days.


	3. Chapter 3

Angie was excited, running upstairs to pack, running back downstairs to kiss her mother. Julia smiled, but Joey saw the touch of weariness around her eyes. Craig hung back, hugging himself by the wall near the stairs.

"I don't have a bathing suit," Craig said, and Joey had anticipated some sort of excuse like that. He'd gone to the mall to shop for both Craig and Julia. He'd bought him a bathing suit.

"Don't worry, I got you one,"

Craig scowled, looked away. Julia wasn't even looking at him. Joey gazed at her, feeling such a mixture of love and frustration. She was sipping tea from an oversized mug, it was chai tea and the aroma filled the room. Julia was the most stubborn woman he had ever met, and he wondered how she had ever lived with Albert. Those wills must have locked horns every single day.

Julia must suspect, somewhere deep in her mother's soul, that Craig wasn't in the best situation. He knew it, it was clear as a pealing bell. Craig knew it, of course, even if he was telling himself that things were fine. Only Angie was truly innocent.

The car was packed, the kids were packed, everything was ready to go. Caitlin had called to say their reservations were all set, the rooms were great, and have a great time. Joey thanked her, wishing he could tell her the truth of things. He missed those days, when you could just say things and not have to dance around everyone else's defenses.

"Where is this place?" Julia asked, slumped in the front seat. Joey steered the car along the long highway that lead from Toronto to upstate New York.

"Niagra Falls,"

It was a nice enough drive, long and relaxing, except in winter. He remembered one winter he headed out to some casino on the edge of New York because Snake was stranded there, having run out of money and gas and everything else when the dice rolled the wrong way one last time. Through swirling snow he crept along at 15 miles an hour, hazard lights blinking away along with everyone else on the road and he had prayed he wouldn't end up in lake Ontario.

But it was cool end of September and the roads were clear, the skies were clear. He listened to Angie's little voice in the back seat and the radio, that was all the noise in the car.

He pulled into the parking lot, feeling stiff from driving straight through. He got out and stretched, then helped Julia out of the car. She leaned on him and then straightened up, determined to do it herself. It was probably in part that determination that had helped her to survive, first the marriage with Albert and now the cancer. He couldn't begrudge her that determination. He just wished she weren't so determined to think that things were perfectly fine with Craig and Albert.

They checked in, and he eyed the huge indoor, in ground swimming pool beyond the glass doors. Caitlin had done alright. He'd like to relax here, have a drink by the pool, watch the kids swim. Kiss his wife. But if his plan worked he'd be watching Julia crumble with the knowledge that Craig was being hurt.

"Wow!" Angie said, gripping the edge of the counter with her little fingers. Joey had to smile.

"Let's get your bathing suit and you can go swim," he said.

"Yay! Craig, you come, too!" she said, tugging on his sleeve. Craig looked down at her and shook his head.

"No, I don't really want to,"

Tired, leaning on the counter, Julia raised her head and looked at him, the first glint of suspicion entering her gaze.


End file.
